Women Deliver 2010 was held in Washington DC on June 7-9, 2010. The conference’s theme was "Delivering solutions for girls and women," and participants called on governments worldwide to protect the hundreds of thousands of women who still die in pregnancy and childbirth each year by investing an additional $12 billion or more in women’s health and family planning services. FCI was represented in numerous conference sessions, and chaired the working group that planned the sessions focusing on maternal and newborn health. Women Deliver also included the 2010 conference of Countdown to 2015, a collaborative effort that collects and analyzes maternal, newborn, and child mortality and coverage data from the 68 countries that account for at least 95% of maternal and child deaths. FCI is a member of Countdown’s coordinating committee and is its co-chair for advocacy.

Women Deliver has grown from a historic 2007 London conference organized by FCI into an independent global advocacy initiative. At the conference, FCI president Ann Starrs said, “We are proud of FCI’s role in launching Women Deliver, and this conference sends a powerful message to world leaders that now is the time for a new level of political commitment and financial investment to save women’s lives.”

FCI exhibited at the conference, and participated in conference sessions as follows:

Dr. Fred Sai, who retired as chair of FCI's board in 2010, was honorary co-chair of the conference.

Debra Jones, Director, Global Advocacy, co-moderated a panel on "Finding Common Ground: AIDS, MCH and SRHR Advocacy?," spoke at a side event on “Scaling up integrated health responses by including MCH in Global Fund applications for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and HSS,” and made a "Speaker’s Corner" presentation on "Living Testimony: Obstetric Fistula and Inequities in Maternal Health"

Sam Mulyanga, Program Officer, FCI-Kenya, spoke at a panel on :Engaging communities in maternal and newborn health"

Elizabeth Westley, Senior Manager, Global Consortiums, moderated a panel on "Post-abortion care - current issues," and presented at a panel: "Girls Decide: Stand up for choices on sex and pregnancy"

Martha Murdock, Director, Latin America and Caribbean Program, presented at a panel on "MDG 5: At the Heart of Achieving All the MDGs"

FCI also presented a photo exhibition — Touched / Vínculos Vitales — featuring work by photographer Joey O’Loughlin. This exhibit, organized by FCI on behalf of the Andean Plan to Prevent Adolescent Pregnancy in collaboration with UNFPA, the Ibero-American Youth Organization, and the Spanish International Cooperation Agency for Development, includes poignant and inspiring images that reveal the pervasive and multifaceted problem of teenage pregnancy in the Andean region. This powerful photographic exhibition can also be viewed as an online slideshow.

About FCI:Every minute of every day,a woman dies needlessly from complications of pregnancy or childbirth. For more than two decades, Family Care International has worked to end this slow-motion catastrophe. In the halls of power, FCI fights for funding to save women's lives. In remote villages, FCI works with local partners and communities to raise awareness, create innovative solutions and tools, and implement effective programs. Read more...

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